Money for books

MONT VERNON — With their eyes on the Girl Scout Silver Award, three Scouts are raising funds to create a new library at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD).

Katie McCann, 13, Ana Kruger, 14, and Izzy Anton, 13, have been working all summer to raise enough money to purchase 100 books for the new room known as Rebecca's Book Nook at CHaD.

According to Kruger, the book nook is named for Rebecca Tabat, a student at Nashua North who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in her senior year and died from the disease in 2010. Tabat was a student of Leslie Anton, Izzy Anton's mother and one of the leaders of the Girl Scout troop. It was Anton who suggested that the girls focus their energies on helping the hospital establish a new library.

Though she was fighting for her life, Tabat turned her attention to the children around her in the hospital who were also struggling and began thinking of ways to make their lives better.

"She started selling T-shirts and bracelets and bears to raise money," said Kruger.

Tabat established an organization called "Cure with Hope," designed to help improve children's stays in hospitals by providing books, movies, videogames and other forms of entertainment.

Since Tabat's death, her mother, Charlene, has taken the lead with the charity, which has pledged $75,000 to help the hospital create a centrally located play area in the pediatric inpatient unit, according to the group's website, www.curewithope.org.

Inspired by Tabat's generosity, the Mont Vernon Girl Scouts offered to assist with the Cure with Hope project by creating Rebecca's Reading Nook.

So far, according to McCann, they've brought in about half the money they need by selling book plates that will be placed in the new books, as well as selling magnets and thank-you cards that McCann designed. But they only have until Sept. 30 to raise enough money for 100 books and to qualify for the Silver Award.

"The Silver Award is the second highest award you can get in Girl Scouts," said McCann. "It's like practice for getting the Gold Award which is like the equivalent of an Eagle Scout."

The girls have to perform 50 hours of work on a project that gives back to the community and is sustainable in the long term, and though going for their Silver Award is an optional exercise, the girls are motivated to get the fundraising part done before they leave the rank of Cadette for the senior level in Scouting at the end of September.

Izzy Anton, who is a year behind the other girls, will continue the physical part of the project, to help install the reading nook, once construction on the play area is completed, McCann said.